At a Glance

This quick start guide is your companion resource to the Canvas Essentials training. It reinforces key concepts and provides helpful links to support your work as a teaching assistant (TA) at MIT Sloan throughout the term. Keep it bookmarked for easy reference when questions come up.

Getting Started as a TA

Your First Steps

  1. Confirm Canvas access: Your course should appear on your Canvas Dashboard within 24 hours or so of your TA appointment being processed. If it doesn’t, contact Sloan Student Funding.
  2. Meet with your teaching team: Meet early with faculty and your Primary Course Admin (PCA) to make a course management plan.
  3. Plan ahead for classroom technology: Coordinate special AV needs—like remote guest speakers or simulations—early. The more advance notice you give, the better our team can support you.
  4. Find Instructor Resources: Look for this link in the Course Navigation Menu of your Canvas site—it’s only visible to teaching teams and provides quick access to the TA Hub, Term Start Checklist, and much more.

Common TA Scenarios

Your Canvas responsibilities will typically fall into one of two categories, depending on how your course is set up:

  • Supporting a course built from scratch: You may help build modules, assignments, and files from the ground up.
  • Managing a copied course: More common—you’ll help maintain and update existing content (due dates, materials, etc.).

Tip: Skip the manual work—our team will copy your course for you, bringing over only the content you need and leaving out old announcements, discussions, and calendar events.

Teaching Tools

As a TA, it’s helpful to get familiar with the platforms and tools available to you before the term begins. A little preparation now can make a big difference once things get busy. Our team offers training and how-to guides for key tools and is here to support you throughout the term.

Here are some of the most commonly used tools by TAs:

  • A+ Attendance: Track and manage student attendance directly in your Canvas site. Replaces manual methods like spreadsheets, sign-in sheets, or roll calls. Attending our 30-minute training is strongly recommended.
  • Photobook: Displays student photos, bios, and name pronunciations from MySloan in your Canvas site. Helpful for learning and pronouncing names correctly, understanding student backgrounds, and creating balanced teams.
  • Poll Everywhere: Real-time polling tool for class engagement. Students respond via phone, text, or computer. Requires a Presenter license from IS&T.

Manage Course Files & Readings

As a TA, you’ll often be the one uploading and sharing course materials—like lecture slides, readings, and assignments. Keeping these files organized (and making sure they’re visible at the right time) goes a long way in helping students know where to look and what to do. A clear file structure also makes your job easier—you can quickly find the right file when linking it to an assignment or module, ensure that only the files and folders you want are visible to students, and spend less time fielding “Where can I find this?” questions.

Course Files

File Organization

  • Create folders with clear names (e.g., Readings, Lecture Slides, Problem Sets).
  • Label all files with course number, class number or date, and a descriptive title for easy identification (e.g., 15.927_Class4_LectureSlides.pdf) (MIT Sloan Gold Standard).

File & Folder Visibility

The publishing status of files and folders determines what students can see in your course. There are four states:

  • Unpublished: Hidden from students.
  • Published: Visible and accessible to students (default for new uploads).
  • Only available with link: Hidden from the main Files area, but accessible if linked from a module, page, assignment, discussion, or quiz.
  • Available on specific date: Accessible only during a set date range. Before the start date, students will see the item as locked, even if they have a direct link.

The course must also be published before students can access any materials, even if files or folders are marked as published.

The Hierarchy of Publishing

Publishing follows a parent–child structure:

  • If a folder is unpublished, all files and subfolders inside remain hidden—even if those individual items are marked as published.
  • To make a file visible, both the file and its parent folder(s) must be published (and the course itself must be published).

Recommended Workflow

Copyrighted Course Readings

Access to readings is critical for student success. At MIT Sloan, two tools handle copyright-cleared materials: Study.Net and Harvard Business Publishing (HBP).

Study.Net

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP)

Common Pitfall to Avoid: Never upload Study.Net or HBP materials to the Files area in Canvas. Always use the Canvas integrations to ensure compliance.

Create Course Content

Assignments

As a TA, you’ll work with three main types of assignments in Canvas:

Common Pitfall to Avoid: If you don’t select This is a Group Assignment and the correct group set before students submit, they will have to resubmit their work. Always confirm your group assignment settings before publishing.

Tip: Create all deliverables as Canvas assignments with due dates, and include the course number in each title (e.g., 15.927 – Class 4 Assignment) to align with MIT Sloan’s Gold Standards.

Rubrics

Discussions

  • Use case: Great for pre-class reflections, peer feedback, or extending conversations outside of class.
  • Setup: Create a discussion, add a title that starts with the course number (e.g., 15.927 – Team Project Q&A), and adjust settings (graded/ungraded, post-before-viewing, due date).

Quizzes

  • Use case: Use quizzes for quick comprehension checks, low-stakes practice, or graded assessments.
  • Setup:
    • To create a new quiz: Create a new quiz, add a title that begins with the course number (e.g., 15.927 – Midterm Exam), choose between Classic Quizzes (widely used) and New Quizzes (more features and flexibility), and then build your questions.
    • To update an existing quiz: Open the quiz from a previous term and edit the title, instructions, settings, and questions as needed.

Organize Course Content with Modules

Modules bring everything together—readings, assignments, quizzes, and files—so students can easily find what they need in one place. When building modules:

  • Follow MIT Sloan’s Gold Standards by using clear, consistent names that include the class number, topic, and date (e.g., Class 4 – The Five Forces – September 19).
  • Add course content as module items.
  • Use text headers (e.g., Pre-Class, Class Materials, Post-Class Materials) to organize content visually.
  • Publish modules so students can access them.
    • Remember: if a module is unpublished, all items inside remain hidden—even if those items are published.
  • Use Student View to confirm what students will see.

Common Pitfall to Avoid: Student View works well with Canvas-native tools (Assignments, Modules, Pages, Quizzes, Grades). It does NOT work with A+ Attendance, Course Overview, FeedbackFruits, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), Photobook, or Study.Net Materials.

Manage Your Course Roster

As a TA, you’ll often be the first to hear from students who can’t access a course. Canvas enrollments are automated to reflect a student’s official registration at MIT, but you can use the Membership Tool to grant temporary access while their registration is processing.

Tip: If you can’t find someone by email in the Membership Tool, try searching with their MIT ID instead.

Students

48-Hour Student Pass

  • When to use: Give a student temporary access to your Canvas site while their registration is still processing.
  • How it works: Add the student through the Membership Tool. Access lasts for 48 hours and can be renewed as needed until registration is complete.
  • No lost work: All submissions and activity are saved—even if the pass expires and you re-add the student.
  • Automatic role update: Once a student is officially registered in WebSIS, their Canvas role automatically updates from “48-Hour Student Pass” role to “Student.” This update usually occurs within 24 hours (often sooner), as long as the WebSIS and Canvas sections match.

Waitlisted Students

  • How it works: Waitlisted students aren’t automatically added to your Canvas site. If they need access, add them manually through the Membership Tool
  • Automatic role update: Once a student is officially registered in WebSIS, their Canvas role automatically updates from “Waitlist” role to “Student.” This update usually occurs within 24 hours (often sooner), as long as the WebSIS and Canvas sections match.
  • Automatic removal: Waitlisted students who don’t secure a spot in the class are automatically removed from your Canvas site 3 days after the add/drop date—no action required on your part.

Cross-Registered Students

  • How it works: Students from Harvard or Wellesley complete the official cross-registration process. Once their registration is approved and processed, they’re automatically added to your Canvas site—usually within 24 hours (often sooner).
  • Temporary access: If their registration is delayed, use the Membership Tool to give them a 48-Hour Student Pass.
  • Automatic role update: Once a student is officially registered in WebSIS, their Canvas role automatically updates from “48-Hour Student Pass” role to “Student.” This update usually occurs within 24 hours (often sooner), as long as the WebSIS and Canvas sections match.

To learn more, see How to Add a Cross-Registered Student to a Canvas Course.

Common Pitfall to Avoid: When granting temporary access, always add students to the Canvas section that matches their WebSIS enrollment.

If a 48-Hour Student Pass or Waitlisted student is added to the wrong section, their Canvas role will NOT update automatically. When in doubt, check the latest WebSIS roster with your PCA. You can always move a student to the correct section within the same Canvas site.

Section Changes

Students sometimes need to switch sections, and the steps you take depend on whether the sections are housed within the same Canvas site or in different ones.

Learn More

Grade Student Work

As a TA, you’ll spend much of your time reviewing assignments, providing feedback, and managing grades in Canvas. SpeedGrader lets you view, grade, and give feedback on individual student and group submissions—all in one place. Here’s how you can use it:

Common Pitfall to Avoid: By default, grades post automatically. If you don’t switch to manual posting, students will see grades and feedback as soon as you enter them.

Promote Student Equity & Success

As a TA, you’re a vital part of the teaching team. The way you set up and manage your Canvas course helps students stay organized, reduces confusion, and sets them up for success.

Help Students Find What They Need

  • Simplify the Course Navigation Menu: Hide unused tools and keep only essential links visible (MIT Sloan Gold Standard).
  • Highlight resources: Point students to the Student Resources link in your Canvas site—it provides quick access to Canvas help, academic support, and student life resources.
  • Use consistent labeling: Include the course number in all assignment, module, group, and file names for easy identification (MIT Sloan Gold Standard).
  • Check Student View often: Use Student View to confirm the course is clear, accessible, and easy to navigate.

Build Connection with Photobook

The Photobook tool displays student photos, bios, and name pronunciations from MySloan directly in Canvas. Use it to:

  • Learn names quickly and personalize interactions
  • Get a sense of student backgrounds and experiences
  • Form balanced teams by considering diversity of backgrounds

Use Canvas to Stay Connected

Grade for Equity

Equitable grading helps ensure all students are evaluated fairly and consistently, no matter which TA is reviewing their work.

  • Use rubrics: Provide transparency and consistency across multiple graders.
  • Consider hiding student names: Hide student names when grading to help reduce bias.

Tip: Switch to manual grade posting if you want to release grades all at once. This ensures students only see their grades and feedback when you’re ready—whether you post them from SpeedGrader or Gradebook.

Apply MIT Sloan’s Gold Standards

Together, Sloan Technology Services and the Sloan Student Senate identified 6 best practices of a Canvas course, known as MIT Sloan’s Gold Standards, that students report as having the greatest positive impact on their learning experience:

  1. Label modules with the class date and topic
  2. Create all deliverables (e.g., assignments, readings, pre-work) as Canvas assignments with a due date
  3. Add course content, instructions, and important links as module items
  4. Label files with the course number, class number or date, and topic
  5. Show only necessary items in the Course Navigation Menu
  6. Solicit informal feedback about the Canvas site from students throughout the term

Get Help with Canvas

As a TA, you may need quick answers or troubleshooting support while working in Canvas. You can access built-in Canvas help anytime, and our team is also available to help with Sloan-specific tools for teaching and learning.

General Canvas Questions

The Help button in the Global Navigation Menu gives you access to:

To learn more, see How to Get Help with Canvas.

Sloan-Specific Questions

Visit our website (mitsloanedtech.mit.edu) for:

Submit a support ticket for help with livestreaming and classroom recordings, special AV needs, and Sloan-specific tools like:

Related Resources